Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1887-09-19
How He Escaped.


the New York Herald. now promi-
nent business man in Washington.
The letter was dated March 9. 1868.
and said: docs the North appreci-
ate the fact that we have held all
winter long an active battlefront of
thirty-fve miles in length: Do YOU
know that we have really not been in
winter quarters: There has not been
an hours relaxing on the whole of
this thirty-tive miles since this army
took up its present line to Darby
town, etc.
If you have time to hear it l will
tell you of my capture shortly before
the date of that letter. said Mr..
Trembty. Il was riding with Gen.
Gwin, whose brigade led the infantry
column, preceded by a regiment of
cavalry-the 9th Ohio. When about
three miles from Dinwiddie court
house the column halted. about
O'Clock. and were selecting camping
grounds for the night.
Supposing. of course, that pickets
had been put out. l went to barn
forty rods away TO feed my horse.
saw two men approaching me. and
the blush gray of their clothing made
me suppose they were Union men.
could have escaped but for this mis-
take. They proved TO be of W. H.
F. Lees cavalry.
Ny horse did not get chance to |
finish his oats. l was ordered to |
mount. and started rather unwillinglv |
TO visit Lees headquarters. l rode |
between my captors, one of them
holding my check-rein. Several
squads of officers came out from the
woods as we went along to quiz me
about our numbers, plans and posi-
ton. but did not prove well inform
| ed on these subjects.
In one of these parties little six
teen-year-old lieutenant grabbed the
hat of my head and put upon ME his
filthy. miserable old slouch. which
proved so large it dropped over my
eyes 1 said. If I am going to see
Gen. Lee. l don't want to appear be-
fore him in this old hat
You needn't mind that, said the
lieutenant; You will find his no bet
ter
Months after, when I saw Gen.
Lee he wore very much such hat
Another officer then ordered me to Z
hand over my watch, which [ did
with as good grace as [ could.
The horses they rode were jaded.
miserable creatures. while mine was a
splendid animal. and [ was moment {
arily expecting an order to exchange.
but they felt sure of him no doubt. '
[ knew the Ohio cavalry lay of to my
right. which they did not.
Ny wife was coming to Washing c
ton that day, and l had left her but
poorly provided with money. because
L expected TO go back there in a few [
days. She was very young and mex Il
perienced, and the thought of her 5
anxiety and destitution made me de- a
termine to escape l almost felt the '
twinge of their bullets in nv back. a
[ now think if my wife had not been is
in my mind l should not so soon have o
made the effort.
Just then they saw two of our cav :
alrymen coming across an open field.
Our soldiers understood at once that G.
was a prisoner, and charged down St
upon the rebels. The one holding q
my rein dropped it to reach for his Il
pistol. and [ spurred ahead. The &C
bullets fell thick around me. but | fC
ode through an open gate and was fr
:hased round some farm buildings.
1y which time they began to find it gT
necessary to face the cavalrymen VI
After an exchange of shots our men. st
there were more of the reb- ha
is near, struck out for camp, and II
he rebels after me until I rode in re-
light of the 9Th Ohio. when. with I'M
'arting shot, they withdrew.
In an hour and half from the be
ime my horse was taken from his pie
ats l led him back to the same tree
0 finish his meal fra
A regiment of infantry had gone
4 pursuit Of me, and We gathered in
lOst of those squads as prisoners. |
eat the regiment in, and kept that -
Id hat as a souvenir of the southern tn9
les
We had hard time in those days = {!
seeing which correspondent would 7fAh
Ell in our news first. We never hes SeL
ated TO charter steamboat. loco VIZ
lotive or to buy horse and abandon ieh
i'm if taking care Of him meant de- oAa
.ntion Of news. II
Frank Chapman of the Herald was
Ne OF the most enterprising of the con
ar correspondents Where news edu
lied he had a splendid imagination, IN
I'd ne never hesitated to draw upon kno
One night several correspondents Of
1arded train in Virginia to reach The
ashington to get of their despatch bee
for that day. The telegraph Of at I
;es were only kept open for Us until sma
a. m, because later that would be A
0 late for morning paper. Sever rece
delays had occurred, and the cor ners
sPondents were all growing anx- surf
rs ted